The editorial argues that private enterprise investment in R&D is
relatively low in New Zealand, and this is harming New Zealand's economy
long-term as our businesses aren't adding as much value to our exports
as we could. This is a concern the government shares.

Through
initiatives such as Callaghan Innovation and new forms of company
incubators, business investment in R&D has greatly expanded. According to Statistics NZ'sSurvey of Research and Development,
overall expenditure on R&D has grown by 23% since 2008 to $2.6
billion. Critically, private sector expenditure has grown by 31% over
the same period to $1.2 billion.

This is an excellent trend in
the right direction, but more needs to be done. We still lag behind
other small economies in terms of the percentage of our GDP spent on
R&D. Despite the recent growth we've experienced, our total spend is
1.27% of GDP, versus the OECD average of 2.38%. We're heading in the right
direction but it is critical for New Zealand's future that we continue
on
this path.